and suggested the two meet even though Warrant was already under negotiations with Columbia Records. Jani flew down to New Orleans and spent four days with Blaze, attending Lillian Axe shows and hanging out with Blaze. While the two had a strong mutual respect for one another, it became clear that each of them were the leaders and chief songwriters of their respective bands. The classic lineup came together when former Stiff members, Ron Taylor (lead vocals), Jon Ster (rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), and Rob Stratton (bass guitar), teamed up with Lillian Axe members Steve Blaze (lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), and Danny King (drums) in 1987. The band caught the attention of Ratt's management which led to a record deal with MCA and Ratt's Robbin Crosby producing the band's first album, Lillian Axe. However, neither this nor the 1989 follow-up, Love + War, produced by Tony Platt, met commercial expectations and the group was quickly dropped by the label. A compilation of both MCA albums, (1987–1989) Out of the Darkness – Into the Light, was released in 1991. The band found a new label home with Grand Slamm/I.R.S. Records for Poetic Justice, released in 1992, with Darrin DeLatte (bass guitar) and the former Dirty Looks member Gene Barnett (drums) replacing Stratton and King, respectively. The album peaked on the Billboard Top Heatseekers at No. 28, the band's biggest success to date, in part based on the strength of the single, "True Believer". Returning to the studio with the Swedish producer Leif Mases, the group issued Psychoschizophrenia in 1993, with Tommy Scott replacing Barnett on drums. Unable to capitalize on their previous success, Lillian Axe disbanded in 1995. Taylor formed The Bridge, while Blaze teamed up with his brother, the drummer Craig Nunenmacher, in Near Life Experience, and Scott, aka Tommy Stewart, found success with Boston's Godsmack, appearing on the band's platinum-selling Godsmack and Awake albums. In 1999, Lillian Axe released Fields of Yesterday, consisting of unreleased demos and album outtakes, followed by Live 2002, recorded in May 2002 in Houston, Texas, with only Taylor and Blaze remaining from the classic MCA lineup. After several lineup changes, the band recruited as lead vocalist Derrick LeFevre, who appeared on Waters Rising (2007), Sad Day on Planet Earth (2009) and Deep Red Shadows (2010). On June 23, 2010, Ronny Munroe, formerly of Metal Church, replaced LeFevre, but he departed four months